How to lab-test your brain with an iPhone

February 10, 2013

Suggestion: for better validity, download and try the free iDichotic iOS app first before continuing to read this. I found it very interesting. — Editor

A new study shows that an iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) app yields results on a dichotic listening test that are as reliable as laboratory tests.

Two years ago, psychology researcher Josef Bless was listening to music on his phone when he suddenly had an idea. “In dichotic listening, each ear is presented with a different syllable at the same time (one to the left and one to the right ear) and the listener has to say which syllable seems clearest.

The test indicates which side of the brain is most active during language processing,” Bless explains.

The free app for dichotic listening is called iDichotic; it was launched on the App Store in 2011. Now, more than one year later, more than 1,000 people have downloaded the app, and roughly half have sent their test results to the researchers’ database.

The researchers analyzed the first 167 results they received and compared them with the results of 76 individuals tested in laboratories in Norway and Australia. The results have been published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology.

As reliable as lab tests

“We found that the results from the app were as reliable as those of the controlled laboratory tests. This means that smartphones can be used as a tool for psychological testing, opening up a wealth of exciting new possibilities,” says Bless.

“The app makes it possible to gather large volumes of data easily and inexpensively. I think we will see more and more psychological tests coming to smartphones,” he adds.

“Using a mobile app, patients can be tested and receive training at home, instead of having to come to our laboratory,” says Bless.

Test yourself

You can download iDichotic from the App Store. The listening test takes three minutes and tells you which side of your brain is most active in language processing. Most people primarily use the left side of the brain, but for a minority (including many left-handed people) the right side of the brain is more involved in language processing.

In addition, the test measures attention when the task is to focus on one ear at a time. You can send your results to the researchers anonymously.